Title: Activists and Scholars: Assessing Campaigns to End Animal Experimentation
1Activists and Scholars Assessing Campaigns to
End Animal Experimentation
- Andrew Knight BSc., BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS
- Director, Animal Consultants International
- www.AnimalConsultants.org
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3Overview
- Militant and direct activism
- Requirements for ending animal experimentation
- Scientific activism
- Student activism
- Public activism
- Conclusion
4Militant direct activism
- Tactics
- Protests, sometimes persistent and protracted
- Home demonstrations and staff harassment
- Laboratory raids and animal rescues
- Property destruction vandalism, arson, (sinking
whaling ships !) - Threatening behaviour, e.g., mailed razor blades,
pipe bombs (!?!) - Benefits
- Animals rescued
- Video/camera footage gained
- Laboratories and breeding facilities closed due
to staff harassment and economic damage
5Militant direct activism
- Costs
- Loss of media support
- Loss of public goodwill
- Terrorist characterisation by the biomedical
research industry - Hardening of governmental positions in support of
animal experimentation - Repression of activists
6Militant direct activism
- Clifton M. Arsons boost bill that would inhibit
access to info about animal research. Animal
People 2008 18(6) 22 - Firebombs detonated on a porch and in a home
belonging to University of California at Santa
Cruz researchers in the early morning of August
2, 2008 are believed to have given a big
late-in-session boost to AB 2296, a bill which
would allow universities to withhold the names of
animal researchers from public documents. -
- AB 2296 is in some respects a state version of
the federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
7Militant direct activism
- Dr Elliot Katz, Founder, In Defense of Animals
- AB 2296 would restrict access to information
about animal research at both public institutions
and private companies receiving public funding. - Eric Mills, Founder, Action for Animals
- Such actions put people in danger, and do
nothing to help animals, or further our cause
indeed, they are counter-productive, - The Santa Cruz firebombings, like several
others in the past several years, imminently
preceded the sentencing of a prominent direct
action advocate. Tre Arrow, 34,, on August 12,
2008 drew 78 months in federal prison and a
restitution order for a series of arsons
committed in the name of the Earth Liberation
Front
8Animal experimentation will continue, as long as
- A majority of (i) the government (ii) scientists
and (iii) the public believe it is necessary to
protect and advance human health, (and (iv), a
sizeable industry is economically reliant on it). - Mechanisms
- Direct government intervention
- Translocation to countries where animal
protection is minimal
9Requirements for ending animal experimentation
- Awareness by governments, ethics committee
members, scientists and the public of the poor
human clinical and toxicological predictivity and
utility of animal experiments - Awareness of the poor costs/benefit ratio of
animal experimentation vs. other mechanisms for
protecting and advancing human health - Awareness of the ethical case against animal
experimentation (?) - Resultant public support for restrictions/bans on
animal experimentation - Resultant legislative restrictions/bans on animal
experimentation - Finally outreach to other countries
10Scientific activism
- Publication in peer-reviewed biomedical journals
of systematic reviews demonstrating the poor
human clinical or toxicological utility of animal
experiments around 93 demonstrate poor human
utility - Outreaching of these results
- Scientific and popular media
- Scientific conferences
- Legislators
- Ethics committees
- Universities
- Public presentations
- Maximising impact requires the active
participation of the animal protection movement!
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12Student activism campaigns for humane teaching
methods
- Importance
- directly saves animal lives
- allows compassionate students to graduate
- increases pool of scientists knowledgeable about
and sympathetic towards alternatives - winnable!
- Student successes internationally
- Secrets of student success high motivation and
campaigns based on student, rather than animal,
rights
13Inspiring student campaigns
- Provide students with information about humane
alternatives - Inspire them to conscientiously object
- Guide them in the steps needed to maximize their
chances of success - Provide them with the resources they need to win!
- Outreach biomedical student noticeboards,
student magazines, animal protection newsletters,
websites, presentations, essay competitions.
14Key resources
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17Public activism
- Goals educating legislators, scientists, the
media, and the public about the scientific and
ethical case against animal experimentation - Forwarding existing scientific studies or
abstracts/shorter articles - Publishing own letters/articles
- Speaking or arranging speaking opportunities/debat
es for experts - Seeking media attention through tactics designed
to generate both awareness and support - Laboratory raids/undercover investigations to
rescue animals and gain footage of laboratory
conditions - Graphic stunts occupations, sit-ins, die-ins,
pie-throwing, etc!
18Conclusion
- There is a great deal of intelligent, strategic
activism which is not undertaken by the animal
protection movement, although it is well within
our ability. Such activism would significantly
speed up the abolition of animal experimentation,
which will otherwise take a very long time.
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20Evidence-based websites
www.AnimalExperiments.info Peer-reviewed studies
of human predictivity/utility, governmental
reports, reviews of alternative
strategies. www.HumaneLearning.info Over over
400 published studies of harmful animal use and
humane alternatives, in various educational
disciplines. www.eurca.org The European
Resource Centre for Alternatives in Higher
Education Database over 70 high quality
educational alternatives, most with commissioned
reviews by professional educators.
- Andrew Knight BSc., BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS
- Director, Animal Consultants International
- www.AnimalConsultants.org